The Final Battle
by Arabella Devine
Summary: Faith is needed to help Angel and Co. stop the armageddon...r


5:47am June 26th, 2003 She walked among the dead, the dying, and the barely alive. A wind flew past her, rippling her trench coat and blowing her chocolate tresses behind her. She had just wlked through hell on Earth, and had come out alive. She did have evidence of the horrendous things she had fought; her thigh had a large gash through the leather of her pants, her face was bruised, and her lip was cut; her arm was sprained and her left shoulder was displaced; and her abdomen had a large burn on it. She could barely hold the sword she had in her hand, but she was alive.  
  
Faith had beaten evil, extinguishing the fire within herself and of the volcanic beast seeking to destroy Los Angeles.  
  
She was free.  
  
10:21 am June 8th, 2003 Angel paced in his office, oblivious to Cordelia and Wesley watching from the doorway with worried frowns.  
  
"What do you thinks the matter with him?" Cordelia whispered as they walked back near her computer.  
  
"I don't know. We have had a slower week than usual, but that's bound to happen." Wesley trailed off, lost in his own thoughts.  
  
"I'm irked because Faith called yesterday and said she was being released. Wolfram and Hart messed around with her charges as a result of her agreeing to kill me and now they can't find anything to hold her on. She told me not to pick her up, and asked if she could stay in the hotel with us." Angel answered them, looking down at a case file he picked up off Codelia's desk.  
  
"She's going to stay here? Is that a wise desiscion?" Wesley asked. He was not as against Faith as he was three years before, but he was still distrustful of the rogue slayer.  
  
"She needs a place where she can feel safe after being in jail. She just needs a comfort zone to transition in." Angel replied.  
  
"If you're sure." Wesley trailed off, that alone being an indication of his doubt.  
  
"Have you gone insane? She is a psychotic freak who has the capacity to kill people and often has the urge to! Why is she coming to stay with the people she's most likely to go after?!" Cordelia stood with her hands on her hips, an furious look on her face.  
  
"Because we're also the people that can help her if she needs it." Angel said, his tone implying that the subject was done with.  
  
A knock on the doors prompted them all to look at Angel, whose feet were already taking him to open the doors.  
  
A collective breath was exhaled as three sets of anxious eyes met Gunn and Fred's curious ones.  
  
"Why have y'all got a look on your faces like we aren't Brad and Jennifer?" Fred asked in her southern twang.  
  
"We were expecting a 'reformed' evil psycho bitch." Cordelia put her hands up and did airquotes when she said 'reformed'.  
  
"Well it must be another Monday morning. What else is up?" Gunn asked.  
  
"We have a case at two about a family that has a demon stalker." Cordelia got down to business. ~  
  
"It's five, you guys should order a pizza of something. I can hear Fred's stomach growling from over here" Angel said with a smile from his seat on the circlular couch.  
  
Cordelia dialed the pizza place and ordered. Half an hour later the doors creaked open for a pimply faced kid in a uniform holding a pizza and a bottle of soda. Cordelia paid him and started dishing out the pizza.  
  
"Ah man.I 'm late for dinner." A familiar voice said from the doorway.  
  
"Faith"  
  
She had changed. A lot. She was wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants and a white tee shirt with a jean jacket. Her hair was long, almost to her waist. She had very little makeup on and a duffle bag thrown over one shoulder.  
  
"Hey." She stood on the steps of the lobby, looking as if she was waiting for approval or introductions or something.  
  
"Faith, this is Gunn and Fred." Angel introduced her to the two friends she hadn't met. "Connor and Lorne are out."  
  
"Hi." She came into the room a bit more but still stayed her distance as if she was being stalked by a tiger.  
  
"So.You're a Slayer?That must be kinda cool." Gunn said awkwardly, trying to break the silence.  
  
"Not really." Faith said honestly, not trying to shoot him down but she didn't want him getting any brilliant ideas about her.  
  
"Here, Faith, I'll show you to your room" Angel gestured for her to follow him upstairs.  
  
"So. That was intresting." Cordelia said in the silence. ~  
  
"This can be your room. It's got a nice bathroom and the view looks out on the city. You've also got a fridge, a little kitchen and a tv and stereo." Angel finished showing her the room.  
  
"Thanks.for everything." Faith smiled gently. Angel was growing to like the new Faith. Or maybe it was just the more grown up Faith. Either way, she was better.  
  
"So, in prison there were a lot of rules. Any I should know about?" Faith asked. She was still really tentative about Angel's kindness.  
  
"Not that I know of. You should get settled then come back downstairs and start your new job. We can also give you the full introduction to Angel Investigations." Angel said.  
  
"New job? Angel, all I needed from you was roof for a while. That's too much. I know I'm not completely welcomed." Faith didn't want to ruin the bridge she was so slowly putting up.  
  
"You're the Slayer, and you need the money. If you're worried about Wesley and Cordelia, ignore them. Focus on what you were working toward in jail: redemption." Angel smiled and closed the door, leaving her to do whatever.  
  
Instead of worrying over what everyone would think, she looked around her new home. One thing was for sure: this must have been a four star hotel in it's glory days. The bed was surprisingly plush, the bathroom was heaven in her book, and she even had stereo. She dug around in her duffle, pulled out her linkin park cd, and then went to shower off her worries.  
  
When she got out she changed into a pair of jeans and a black tank top. She twisted her wet hair into a bun, and went downstairs.  
  
The first thing she noticed was the green, horned demon in the bright purple suit.  
  
Angel must have sensed her inner hackles rising up. "Faith, I'd like you to meet Lorne. He's an aura reader."  
  
"Hi." She glanced around, noticing a guy that was probably around her age, maybe a bit younger. He seemed a bit on edge on having her there.  
  
"And this is my son, Connor."  
  
"Oh.so you're boy wonder." Faith smiled, then turned her attention to Angel.  
  
"Wes has been researching a demon called Desaturan. He usually mind rapes his victims then either eats them or leaves them for dead. We've been tracking them for a week and a half. He should be not hard to kill but he does have a few allies in the demon world and he may have them with him tonight." Angel handed her a picture of a particularily ugly demon covered with little pestiuales.  
  
"How do we kill it?" Gunn asked.  
  
"The same way as every other mind-raper: cut off it's head. Without that, the central nervous system dies." Wesley answered.  
  
Angel walked over to an amoire, and picked up an medieval machete. He then threw it straight at Faith, who had been focusing on Wesley's instructions. She whipped around, and caught the machete as it came straight for her head. She glared at Angel's smile.  
  
"What, didja think I was off my game because I was in prison?" She knew why he had thrown it.  
  
""Just making sure." Angel laughed a little, then tossed Gunn and Connor weapons.  
  
Faith caught the look of admiration in Gunn's eyes before he turned toward Angel. 


End file.
